


Basket Case

by Sarcxstic_Stilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, people fucking suck in school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 09:05:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14257581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcxstic_Stilinski/pseuds/Sarcxstic_Stilinski
Summary: Most people didn’t realize that Malia could hear what they said. When she first arrived at school, clutching her books tightly to her chest while evaluating the campus as if an enemy were to jump out at any second, she could hear the whispers and snickers from her peers. She heard the giggly “she won’t make it here. She’ll be gone in a week. Just like all the others.” She heard the jock saying ‘She’s so fucking hot, but she’s so stupid. Jesus. You’d think she’d be in special ed classes.’ She just didn’t understand a math equation, but they didn’t know what she had been through before.





	Basket Case

To most people, Malia Tate was a basket case. She was unpredictable and hard to train. She had a hard time adjusting to human life, and she was constantly blowing off danger to keep herself safe. Most people didn’t think about how that was how she had grown up. For her, it was like she was still in the wild, and in the wild, you save yourself and no one else.

Most people didn’t realize that Malia could hear what they said. When she first arrived at school, clutching her books tightly to her chest while evaluating the campus as if an enemy were to jump out at any second, she could hear the whispers and snickers from her peers. She heard the giggly _“she won’t make it here. She’ll be gone in a week. Just like all the others.”_ She heard the jock saying _‘She’s so fucking hot, but she’s so stupid. Jesus. You’d think she’d be in special ed classes.’_ She just didn’t understand a math equation, but they didn’t know what she had been through before.

As time went on, people calmed down with their talk, but she was still a big part of their gossip. Everything from her almost flunking out of her grade to how she had gained a few pounds spread like wildfire, and I couldn’t figure out why.

They never paid attention to her achievements. They didn’t notice when she had gotten the best grade in math after staying up the previous night to study. They didn’t notice when she finally grew comfortable enough to wear a dress even if was completely foreign to her. They didn’t notice when she had shot the winning goal in a lacrosse game against Devenford. No, they only paid attention when she messed up, and it hurt her more than she put on.

Most people wouldn’t be able to hear what others said about them, but Malia could hear everything. Werecoyote hearing was not always a blessing.

She had always taken it and bettered herself with it, though. She took it as a challenge to further herself in her studies and make sure she stayed healthy, though she did still find time to go to McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. They were her favorite places to go. Malia was herself, but she was a little bit better, a little bit more human.

However, I didn’t think much about how she had changed until the night I showed up at her house to find her breaking down.

The night had been normal. I had gone home and done my homework. Well, I tried to do my homework. I didn’t get much done, but that’s not the point. I was laying in my bed, waiting for Malia to text me back when I noticed the time. It was around six, and I was starving. I knew she would be too as she was always complaining about how she never had food in the house that she knew how to cook. Basically, there was no ramen or mac n’ cheese.

I slid off the bed, knowing my parents wouldn’t be home for a little while longer, and pulled on some sweatpants. I grabbed my keys and made my way out, locking the door to the house and leisurely making my way to my car. The entire process of getting food was relatively short. No one was in the McDonald’s drive-thru at the time, and the roads were relatively empty, but it was a Wednesday night. Most people weren’t out or still at work.

I hummed a song as I made my way out of the car and into Malia’s hand, my hand clutching a bag with her favorite meal in it: a mcdouble with extra cheese and onions along with a large thing of fries and a large coke.

I placed the food down on the counter and looked around the house. “Malia,” I called out questioningly. Normally, she would already be by my side at the smell of food and sound of me, but she hadn’t come out yet. Maybe she was sleeping?

I stayed silent for a second, listening for any sign of her. My eyes widened as I heard sobbing and coughing.

I moved quickly, making my way to her room. I tried to open the door, but it was locked, and I wasn’t able to get it to budge. “Malia,” I called out, knocking on the door. “Malia, let me in.”

“Go away, y/n,” she yelled out, and I heard something hit the door. She was crying harshly, and I was scared. What had happened?

“Malia, talk to me. What happened?”

Malia didn’t respond; her cries simply became louder. I felt my chest tighten at the sound. Malia was always so strong. Nothing hurt her, but I guess I was wrong. _Something_ had hurt her, and it had hurt her bad.

I was quiet for a few seconds, just listening before I slumped against the door, falling to the ground in front of it. I laid the back of my head against the wood and spoke quietly, knowing she could hear. “Malia, I don’t know what’s wrong or what happened, but I’m going to wait out here until your ready to talk. I don’t want to pressure you into it or anything, but I want you to know that I’m here for you, and I’ll listen to whatever you need me to.”

That’s how I stayed for about ten minutes, just listening to her crying die down as she calmed down. It was completely silent for a minute until I started singing softly, knowing it would coax her out. It was our song, and it showed that I was there still.  It was such a stupid song that a lot of people hated, but it was _our_ song, and that’s all the mattered.

“Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me  
But bear this mind it was meant to be  
And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks  
And it all makes sense to me

I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile  
You've never loved your stomach or your thighs  
The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine  
But I'll love them endlessly.”

I heard Malia shuffle over and place herself on the other side of the door, leaning against it as I was. She sang the next two verses.

“You can't go to bed without a cup of tea  
Maybe that's the reason that you talk in your sleep  
And all those conversations are the secrets that I keep  
Though it makes no sense to me

I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape  
You never want to know how much you weigh  
You still have to squeeze into your jeans  
But you're perfect to me.”

I smiled harshly, listening to her broken voice sing the melody as if it was the only thing keeping her okay.

“You never love yourself half as much as I love you  
You'll never treat yourself right darling but I want you to  
If I let you know, I'm here for you  
Maybe you'll love yourself like I love you oh.”

I mumbled the lyrics out with her before speaking up as it went quiet for a few seconds. “I love you, Malia,” I whispered. “I love you so god damn much, and I’ll destroy anything that hurt you because you don’t deserve to feel like this. You are my everything, and I couldn’t do this without you.”

It was silent again for a few seconds before I heard the doorknob jiggled. I stood up quickly as the door opened slowly, and I was met with the sight of Malia, dried tears covering her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and I swear, I thought I heard my heart break at the sight.

Malia moved forward and wrapped her arms around me, sobs racking her body, but she didn’t have any more tears to shed. I shushed her quietly, running my hands up and down her back. “You’re going to make yourself sick, baby. Calm down.”

She seemed to calm down under my touch, and I smiled lightly as her breathing slowed down and she was still. “I don’t deserve you, y/n. All the people in school are right.”

I frowned at the statement and pulled back to look her in the eyes. She tried to avoid my gaze, but she looked at me as I cupped her face and directed her to me. “What did they say?”

The looked down and mumbled. “They said I was too stupid to be with someone like you. They said I was too temperamental and rude for someone as sweet as you, and I know it’s true. I don’t know why you’re with me.”

I felt my face fall as she spoke, and I pulled her to me again quickly. “Malia, I’m with you because I love you. I love everything about you. No, you’re not stupid. You’re smarter than most of the people in our grade. You’re beautiful and sweet and protective, and you’re everything I could have asked for and then that small bit more. They don’t see you like I see you. They don’t see what I see, and they don’t see our late nights together or the moments when it’s just us two. They don’t see _us_. They just see what they want to, and they’re completely wrong because _I_ don’t deserve _you_ , but I’m selfish, and I want you, so I have you.”

Malia buried her face into my shoulder and mumbled something incoherent before nodding. “I love you, too, y/n.”

I smiled brightly and pulled back slightly so I could kiss her softly, happily humming as she smiled into it. We stood there for a few seconds, not even moving our lips, just enjoying the feeling of being pressed against each other, as close as we could be at the moment. I wanted her to feel how I felt, and I was glad to know that she did.


End file.
